Hand loom

ABSTRACT

A hand loom for handicraft weaving includes a basic frame with two side bars, cloth beam, heddle beam and back beam. An upper warp beam and lower warp beam are mounted upon a swing leg which is braced by a brace leg. The swing leg may be swung to either side of the frame so that the loom is adapted for right or left hand operation.

United States Patent Rose 5] Apr. 16, 1974 [54] HAND LOOM FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [76] lnvemo" Roland Rose, 1010 8th 493,207 3/1950 Belgium 139/33 Andrews, Tex; 79714 [22] Filed: M 14, 1973 Primary Examiner--Henry 'S. Jaudon Appl. No.: 360,004

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wendell Coffee [5 7 ABSTRACT A hand loom for handicraft weaving includes a basic frame with two side bars, cloth beam, heddle beam and back beam. An upper warp beam and lower warp beam are mounted upon a swing leg which is braced by a brace leg. The swing leg may be swung to either side of the frame so that the loom is adapted for right or left hand operation.

14 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures HAND LOOM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to weaving and more particularly to hand looms with manual shedding. (139/33) 2. Description of the Prior Art Known to the prior art are narrow looms for weaving narrow strips of cloth in the handicraft field. 'These looms often have a rectangular frame with a cloth beam, back beam, and heddle beam, all planarly constructed. An upper warp beam and a lower warp beam are elevated above the planar construction. The loom is dressed by taking warp threads through the heddles and over the upperwarp beam alternated with warp threads straight from the cloth beam to the lower warp beam.

Generally, the upper warp beam and the lower warp beam are mounted upon legs which are rigidly attached to the lower frame.

Some designs have been suggested having a triangular frame which, obviously, has greater strength and stability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION NEW AND DIFFERENT FUNCTION I have invented a loom wherein the upper and lower warp beams are attached to a pivoted or swing-leg. The swing leg is held in place by a brace leg which extends from the upper warp beam to the heddle beam.Therefore, the swing leg may be placed on either side of the frame, thus, reversing the frame. The upper and lower warp beams are cantilevered from the single leg. Therefore, the loom is basically open on one side for better manipulation for the hand shedding. Also, having this one side open for hand shedding, the loom is adept to be worked either from the right hand side or the left hand side. However, by having the swing leg reversed so it may be positioned on either side of the base frame,

it is readily converted from a right hand loom to a left hand loom.

Also, there is frequently a need to change the tension of the warp threads as weaving progresses. I have provided a movable tension beam so this may be accomplished.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The specific nature of the invention, as well as other objects, uses, and advantages thereof, will clearly appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawing, the different views of which are not to the same scale.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment 1 of this invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 5--5 of FIG. 2 at an enlarged scale from FIG. 4 and showing the tension beam in a different position than illustrated in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring specifically to the drawing, there may be seen two closely related embodiments which are slightly different.

Each loom has base frame 10. The base frame is basi- 'cally planar and rectangular, having main side bar 12 and second side bar 14. The bars are rectangular in cross section and parallel in the frame. Although the ends of the bars 12 and 14 are shown square, it will be understood that for a pleasing appearance they could be rounded. The bars 12 and 14 are connected together by four dowels or round rods. These rods are called beams herein. Cloth beam 16 extends, normally, across the bars at the front of the loom. Back beam 18-extends, normally, across the bars to complete the rectangular frame at the back. Heddle beam 20 extends between the bars about midway therebetween. These beams, cloth beam, back beam, and heddle beam, are all securely fastened within the bars 12 and 14 so the bars 12 and14 with the three beams 16, 18, and 20, form a rigid, rectangular, planar frame. The beams are all flush within the bars except the heddle beam, which is flush with the second bar 14, but extends through the main beam 12 to provide heddle beam stub 22 outside the regular confines of the frame 10.

Swing leg 24 is pivoted to the back beam 18. This is accomplished by having a hole through one end of the swing leg 24 with the back beam 18 telescoped therethrough before the frame 10 is assembled. Upper warp beam 26 is rigidly attached in the top of the swing leg 24. The upper warp beam is also a round rod conveniently made of dowel stock. The upper warp beam 26 extendsat right angles through the upper end of the swing leg 24 through spacer28 so it produces an upper stub (not shown) on the other side of the spacer 28. Therefore, brace leg30 may be used to securely position the swing leg 24 in position. This is accomplished by the brace leg 28 having a socket along one side of each end thereof. The lower socket fits over the heddle beam stub 22 as illustrated in FIG. 5 and the upper socket fits over the upper warp stub which extends outwardly from the upper warp beam 26. Therefore, in this position, a rigid loom has been constructed having the upper warp beam 26 parallel to the three planar beams 20. The spacer 28 not only provides additional thickness so there is additional rigidity to the upper and lower warp beams 26 and 32, but it also provides correct spacing so the stubs from the heddle beam stub 22 and the upper warp stub are in line. l.e., the spacer 28 is the same thickness as the main bar 12 for this purpose.

Although the br ace leg 30 with its sockets forms a snug fit over the stubs, it is removable therefrom. Therefore, as particularly seen in FIG. 3, the brace leg 30 may be removed from the heddle beam stub 22 and the swing leg 24 reversed to the opposite side of the frame and then the brace leg 30 again attached over the stubs so it makes a rigid frame for better operation by a left handed person.

The bars 12 and 14 have a plurality of holes 34, 36, and 38, (six illustrated) between the heddle beam 20 and the back beam 18. As illustrated, the hole 34 is adjacent tothe heddle beam 20 and the hole 38 is adjacent to the back beam 18 with the holes 36 intermediate between the two. Tension beam 40 extends between two of the holes. It is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, as being within the hole 34, whereas, in FIG. it is illustrated in one of the intermediate holes 36. The tension beam 40 is of smaller diameter than the holes 34, 36, Or 38. Therefore, when changing the position of the beam 40 from one position to another, it is possible to walk" the beam. I.e., the beam 40 may be removed from the hole in bar 14 and move to an adjacent hole in barl4 while it is still engaged in the original hole in beam 12. At this time it will be angled and this angle will be accommodated because the holes 36 are larger than the beam 40. Thereafter, the beam 40 may be disengaged from the hole in the bar 12 and moved to the corresponding hole in beam 12 as in the opposite side.

i There is an additional beam, also made of dowel material, called long piece beam 42 which is attached to the main planar frame between the bars 12 and 14. The long piece beam 42 is adjacent and parallel to the cloth beam 16.

OPERATION If a shorter piece of weaving is to be done, heddles, which are loops of cord (not shown), are first prepared and placed on the heddle beam 20. To dress the downwarp, the threads are extended from cloth beam 16 around lower warp beam 32 in front of tension bar 40 (in hole 34) behind back beam 18 and back to the cloth beam 16; then, the downwarp can be securely tied. I.e., one loop of thread is used in this process. Then, as many downwarps as desired are each dressed to the loom in this manner.

The upwarps extend from the cloth beam 16 through the heddles on the heddle beam to over the upper warp beam 26 behind the lower warp, beam 32 around and in front of the tension bar 40 behind the back beam 18 and back to the cloth beam, at which point they will be tied, also forming a loop. Normally, the upwarp will be alternated with the downwarp.

As weaving progresses and the warp thread tension increases, it may be relieved by walking the tension beam 40 to the intermediate holes 36 as described above, and weaving procedes as is well known to those skilled in hand loom weaving.

If a longer piece is to be woven, the warp is dressed on the loom differently. In this case, the downwarp extends from the cloth beam 16 over the lower warp beam 32 around the tension beam 40, which in this case begins in the hole 38, then, back to the long piece beam 42 around the back beam 18 and back to the cloth beam 16 to be knotted. The upwarp extends from the cloth beam 16 through the heddles on the heddle beam 20 over the upper warp beam 26 behind the lower warp beam 32 behind the tension beam 40 to the long piece beam 42 back to the back beam 18 and then to the cloth beam 16 where it is knotted.

In this case, as the tension increases when weaving, the tension bar 40 would be moved to the intermediate holes 36 as described above.

Thus, it may be seen, that I have provided a loom which is readily adaptable for handicraft weavingfThe loom is extremely simple, sturdy, and convertible for right or left hand operation. Also, the tension on the weaving is adjustable as weaving progresses.

The embodiments shown and described above are only exemplary. I do not claim to have invented all the parts, elements or steps described. Various modifications can be made in the construction, material, arrangement, and operation, and still within the scope of my invention. The limits of the invention and the bounds of the patent protection are measured by and defined in the following claims. The restrictive description and drawing of the specific examples above do not point out what an infringement of this patent would be, but are to enable the reader to make and use the invention. 1

I claim as my invention:

1. A loom for handweaving comprising:

a. at least one bar,

b. at least three rods attached tothe bar normal thereto,

0. one of the rods at cloth beam,

d. one of the rods at the other end of the bar called the back beam, and

e. one of the rods between the cloth beam and the back beam called the heddle beam,

f. a swing leg pivoted to the back beam,

g. a rod attached to the end of the swing leg normal thereto and parallel to the other rods,

h. the rod on the swing leg called upper warp beam,

one end of the bar called the j. a brace leg between the heddle beam and upper warp beam, k. a rod called a lower warp beam,

m. the lower warp beam attached to one of said legs p. said cloth, heddle, and back beam extending between the two bars. 3. The invention as defined in claim 1 with an additional limitation of 0. an additional rod called a long piece beam attached between the cloth beam and heddle beam.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1 with additional limitations of o. a plurality of holes in the bar between the heddle beam and back beam and p. a rod called a tension beam in one of said holes.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein 0. said upper and lower warp beams are cantilevered from the swing leg.

6. The invention as defined in claim 5 with additional limitations of p. a plurality of holes in the bar between the heddle beam and back beam and q. a rod called a tension beam in one of said holes.

7. The invention as defined in claim 6 with an additional limitation of r. an additional rod called a long piece rod is attached between the cloth beam and heddle beam. 8. The invention as'defined in claim 7 wherein said loomhas I s. two parallel bars,

t. said cloth, heddle and back beams extending between the two bars. 9. In a loom for hand weaving having a. a rectangular frame having i. a main bar ii. a second bar parallel to the main bar,

iii. a cloth beam connecting the bars at the front end,

iv. a back beam connecting the bars at the back end,

v. the back beam parallel to the cloth beam and normal to the bars,

vi. a heddle beam between the cloth and back beams, b. at least one leg extending upward from said frame,

5 i. an upper warp beam and ii. a lower warp beam thereon, iii. the warp beams parallel to the cloth, heddle and back beams,

c. the improvedstructure comprising in combination with the above:

(1. a plurality of holes in the bars,

e. a tension beam extending from one of the holes in main bar to one of the holes in the second bar,

f. each of said holes having a substantially larger diameter than the diameter of the tension beam so the tension beam may extend non-parallel to the cloth, heddle and back beams.

10. The invention as defined in claim 9 with additional limitations of g. said leg defined above being a swing leg pivoted to the back beam, and

h. a brace leg extending from the heddle beam to the top of the swing leg.

11. The invention as defined in claim 9 with an additional limitation of g. a long piece beam between the bars adjacent to the cloth beam.

12. The invention as defined in claim 9 with an additional limitation of g. said holes between the heddle and back beams.

13. The invention as defined in claim 12 with an additional limitation of n. a long piece beam between the bars adjacent to the cloth beam.

14. The invention as defined in claim 13 with additional limitations of j. said leg defined above being a swing leg pivoted to the back beam, and

k. a brace leg extending from the heddle beam to the top of the swing leg. 

1. A loom for hand weaving comprising: a. at least one bar, b. at least three rods attached to the bar normal thereto, c. one of the rods at one end of the bar called the cloth beam, d. one of the rods at the other end of the bar called the back beam, and e. one of the rods between the cloth beam and the back beam called the heddle beam, f. a swing leg pivoted to the back beam, g. a rod attached to the end of the swing leg normal thereto and parallel to the other rods, h. the rod on the swing leg called upper warp beam, j. a brace leg between the heddle beam and upper warp beam, k. a rod called a lower warp beam, m. the lower warp beam attached to one of said legs about midpoint thereof, n. so that the swing leg may be swung to either side of the bar to form a loom for right-hand or left-hand operation.
 2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said loom has o. two parallel bars, p. said cloth, heddle, and back beam extending between the two bars.
 3. The invention as defined in claim 1 with an additional limitation of o. an additional rod called a long piece beam attached between the cloth beam and heddle beam.
 4. The invention as defined in claim 1 with additional limitations of o. a plurality of holes in the bar between the heddle beam and back beam and p. a rod called a tension beam in one of said holes.
 5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein o. said upper and lower warp beams are cantilevered from the swing leg.
 6. The invention as defined in claim 5 with additional limitations of p. a plurality of holes in the bar between the heddle beam and back beam and q. a rod called a tension beam in one of said holes.
 7. The invention as defined in claim 6 with an additional limitation of r. an additional rod called a long piece rod is attached between the cloth beam and heddle beam.
 8. The invention as defined in claim 7 wherein said loom has s. two parallel bars, t. said cloth, heddle and back beams extending between the two bars.
 9. In a loom for hand weaving having a. a rectangular frame having i. a main bar ii. a second bar parallel to the main bar, iii. a cloth beam connecting the bars at the front end, iv. a back beam connecting the bars at the back end, v. the back beam parallel to the cloth beam and normal to the bars, vi. a heddle beam between the cloth and back beams, b. at least one leg extending upward from said frame, i. an upper warp beam and ii. a lower warp beam thereon, iii. the warp beams parallel to the cloth, heddle and back beams, c. the improved structure comprising in combination with the above: d. a plurality of holes in the bars, e. a tension beam extending from one of the holes in main bar to one of the holes in the second bar, f. each of said holes having a substantially larger diameter than the diameter of the tension beam so the tension beam may extend non-parallel to the cloth, heddle and back beams.
 10. The invention as defined in claim 9 with additional limitations of g. said leg defined above being a swing leg pivoted to the back beam, and h. a brace leg extending from the heddle beam to the top of the swing leg.
 11. The invention as defined in claim 9 with an additional limitation of g. a long piece beam between the bars adjacent to the cloth beam.
 12. The invention as defined in claim 9 with an additional limitation of g. said holes between the heddle and back beams.
 13. The invention as defined in claim 12 with an additional limitation of n. a long piece beam between the bars adjacent to the cloth beam.
 14. The invention as defined in claim 13 with additional limitations of j. said leg defined above being a swing leg pivoted to the back beam, and k. a brace leg extending from the heddle beam to the top of the swing leg. 